AustLit

'INGA Karlson died in a fire in New York in the 1930s, leaving behind three things: a phenomenally successful first novel, the scorched fragments of a second book— and a mystery that has captivated generations of readers.

'Nearly fifty years later, Brisbane bookseller Caddie Walker is waiting in line to see a Karlson exhibition featuring the famous fragments when she meets a charismatic older woman. The woman quotes a phrase from the Karlson fragments that Caddie knows does not exist—and yet to Caddie, who knows Inga Karlson’s work like she knows her name, it feels genuine.

'Caddie is electrified. Jolted her from her sleepy, no-worries life in torpid 1980s Brisbane, she is driven to investigate: to find the clues that will unlock the greatest literary mystery of the twentieth century.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Guardian Australia is asking well-known Australian authors to recommend emerging writers. In the first instalment, best-selling novelist Toni Jordancelebrates the intrepid, brutal, important work of Briohny Doyle.' 

'It’s a strange kind of headline for us today, living in the era of Richard Flanagan and Liane Moriarty and Helen Garner and Michael Robotham. AUSTRALIAN NOVELISTS, the top line reads, and underneath: BOOKS PUBLISHED IN ENGLAND. It’s not a front-page story, of course, literature is rarely that, but it’s in a reasonable spot: page 18 in the Brisbane Telegraph, 10 July 1926. It says: ‘The Australian novelist, Mr. Jack MacLaren, has published his twenty-fifth book, “The Isle of Escape”, which is a sex story, set in the South Seas. His wife is publishing a novel dealing with reincarnation, entitled “Which Hath Been”’. (I’d love to read both of these—they seem perfect for me—but finding them isn’t easy, as I’ll explain.)' (Introduction)

'Henry has ended his marriage to Caroline and headed off to Noosa with Mercedes' grade three teacher, Martha.

'Caroline, having shredded a wardrobe-full of Henry's suits, has gone after them.

'Craig and Lesley have dropped over briefly from next door to catch up on the fallout from Henry and Caroline's all-night row.

'And Janice, Caroline's sister, is staying for the weekend to look after the girls because Janice is the sensible one. A microbiologist with a job she loves, a fervent belief in the beauty of the scientific method and a determination to make a solo life after her divorce from Alec.

'Then Craig returns through the bedroom window expecting a tryst with Caroline and finds Janice in her bed, Lesley storms in with a jealous heart and a mouthful of threats, Henry, Caroline and Martha arrive back from the airport in separate taxis—and let's not even get started on Brayden the pizza guy.

'Janice can cope with all that. But when Alec knocks on the door things suddenly get complicated.

'Harnessing the exquisite timing of the great comedies to the narrative power and emotional intelligence for which she is famous, Toni Jordan brings all her wit, wisdom and flair to this brilliant, hilarious novel.' (Publication summary)

'Brisbane Writers Festival celebrates stories of all shapes and sizes. With the help of Twitter and a brilliant collection of 50 writers from around the globe, the Many Writers, One Story project hopes to put together a very Brisbane tale told in 140 character bite-sized pieces. Where will the story go? What twists will it take? Follow its progress from Tuesday 17 July [2012] ... or on Twitter by following the hashtag #BWF50.'

Source: Brisbane Writers Festival website, http://www.bwf.org.au/
Sighted: 14/08/2012

'It is 1939 and although Australia is about to go to war, it doesn't quite realise yet that the situation is serious. Deep in the working-class Melbourne suburb of Richmond it is business—your own and everyone else's—as usual. And young Kip Westaway, failed scholar and stablehand, is living the most important day of his life.

'Kip's momentous day is one of nine that will set the course for each member of the Westaway clan in the years that follow. Kip's mother, his brother Francis and, eventually, Kip's wife Annabel and their daughters and grandson: all find their own turning points, their triumphs and catastrophes, in days to come.

'But at the heart of all their stories is Kip, and at the centre of Kip's fifteen-year-old heart is his adored sister Connie. They hold the threads that will weave a family.

'In Nine Days Toni Jordan has harnessed all the spiky wit, compassion and lust for life that drew readers in droves to Addition and Fall Girl. Ambitious in scope and structure, triumphantly realised, this is a novel about one family and every family. It is about dreams and fights and sacrifices. And finally, of course, it is—as it must be—about love.' (Publisher's blurb)

'Meet Ella Canfield, highly qualified evolutionary biologist. Attractive, if a little serious-looking in those heavy glasses—but then she's about to put her career on the line. Dr Canfield is seeking funding for a highly unorthodox research project. She wants to prove that an extinct animal still roams in one of Australia's most popular national parks.

'Meet Daniel Metcalf, good-looking, expensively dishevelled millionaire. Quite witty but far too rich to be taken seriously. He heads the Metcalf Trust, which donates money to offbeat scientific research projects. He has a personal interest in animals that don't exist.

'Problem number one: There is no such person as Dr Ella Canfield.

'Problem number two: Della Gilmore, professional con artist, has never met anyone like Daniel Metcalf before.

'Someone is going to take a fall.

'A sparkling, sexy read from the author of Addition, Fall Girl is a story about passion and loyalty, deceit and integrity, and the importance of believing in things that don't exist.' (From the publisher's website.)